(EPA file photo)YANGON: Myanmar has accused Reuters reporters Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, of breaching the country's Official Secrets Act, a little-used hangover from colonial rule. ORIGINS OF THE OFFICIAL SECRETS ACTThe law dates back to 1923, when Myanmar, then known as Burma, was a province of British India. WHAT THE ACT SAYSThe Official Secrets Act covers trespassing in prohibited areas, handling documents deemed secret and communicating with "foreign agents". Reuters journalists arrested in Myanmar, charged under British colonial-era Official Secrets Act via @ReutersTV pic.twitter.com/PENTNVsSKC — Reuters Top News (@Reuters) December 15, 2017(Reuters video)Legal experts say prosecutions under the act have been rare in Myanmar in recent decades. But the Official Secrets Act and other laws, such as the 1908 Unlawful Associations Act, that have been used to jail journalists and activists, remain in force.

Source: Bangkok Post December 18, 2017 05:48 UTC